Page 56 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
Maya
“You are a dumb girl,”Demon hissed out, his anger making me flinch as he looked away from me, pacing in front of my chair. I swallowed as he walked closer and put his hands on either side of the table behind me. “Why the fuck would you come to France, Maya? What the hell would possess you to walk right into his fucking trap?”
I felt my eyes water, his tone making me feel stupid.
His face flashed with panic, and he stepped back. “Donotcry.”
“You’re yelling at me,” I whispered, “and calling me stupid. I didn’t mean to get myself and my mates trapped here. I just wanted to save the other phoenixes. I didn’t want them to live like I had.”
I had no idea why I felt comfortable expressing this to the man, but whatever I said seemed to cause him physical pain because he groaned and leaned against the wall, sliding down it before putting his head against his knees. The position was vulnerable, and I found myself leaving my chair and going to sit on the floor with him, feeling instinctively that talking to him was a good move for getting out of here. I didn’t understand why, but that was the gut reaction I had.
“You were safe in Seattle,” he muttered, his jaw tight. “You were safe, and then you went to that fucking party and let him get it into your head that you weren’t.”
I felt my eyes widen. “How do you know about the party?”
His eyes flashed silver as he looked up at me, a faint rune visible right under his eye, as he seemed to consider something. “That man, Lorn, the bear shifter—what happened with him scared you, didn’t it? Convinced you to come here?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Whose men do you think those were?” he asked dryly.
I swallowed. “The Master’s?” I didn’t know what else to call him.
“Yep,” he bit out.
“He would have let me get…” I breathed out, thinking about Lorn. “I mean, what if I hadn’t killed Lorn? What if he had really hurt me?”
The man’s gaze lit up with cynical humor. “You think you killed him, little one?”
“He’s not dead?” My face went completely pale as I went dizzy, ignoring the jab at me being ‘little.’ I knew it was meant to be demeaning. I put a hand down to steady myself as the man eyed me with concern.
“He is,” he responded softly, “but your magic wasn’t responsible for his death.”
“I burned him up,” I admitted, barely loud enough to hear.
“No, you thought you did,” he stated patiently. “The illusion you experienced made you believe that. I killed him,mon lapin,and then procured ashes so you believed that was the case. Your innocent soul is still free from the stain of death.”
I tried processing his news, but he continued.
“If you were wondering, though—yes. He suffered greatly.”
“But you were part of the plan…” I spoke softly, feeling a weird sense of betrayal.
“I am part of no plan,” he snapped. “I am doing what I am told to do. What I have to do. I was told to make sure Lorn had the opportunity to scare you. That was all. He chose how, and I deemed that unacceptable and ripped out his spine. Simple, really.”
“His spine,” I repeated in a daze.
“You should have stayed where you were safe,mon lapin. I can’t keep your soul untarnished here like I did then.” His voice was soft and tormented.
“Can’t we escape?” I whispered.
His bark of laughter was sad and dull. “Believe me, if there was a way, I would have pushed your little ass out of here.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” He frowned.
“Why would you save me?”
